The Price of E-mailing a Tech God

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There's a certain dickishness inherent in all geniuses that we tend to forgive when it's to our benefit. So when we read about how Steve Jobs treated his employees like dogs, we look at our iPhones and say "Well, the man was a genius who demanded perfection."

And then there's Mark Zuckerberg, the 28-year-old billionaire, for whom we have absolutely zero patience. And even less for a new feature he's testing on Facebook that would force you to pay $100 to contact people outside your network, apparently starting with Zuckerberg.

It was enough to howl at the moon while longing for the days when you could directly email famed asshole Steve Jobs — may he rest in peace — and actually get a response. But despite heading a company on it's way to world domination, he welcomed questions and comments from civilians for the low price of zero dollars and zero cents.

Sure, his responses ranged from snarky rebuttals to the occasional "Please leave us alone," but there's also the time he called an Apple customer named Scott Steckley to personally apologize for his incredibly long wait regarding some computer repair, and then thank him for his continued support of Apple. For all the negative qualities made famous by the books and films that documented Jobs's life, the reality is that he was willing to listen, and, according to current Apple CEO, Tim Cook, willing to change his mind.

For someone who supposedly built the world's most popular social network based on the fact that someone hurt his feelings, you'd think the young billionaire would be more open to communication, especially within a universe he created. Here's to hoping he spends the weekend with an empty inbox and a mind to changing his ridiculous, if not dickish, ways.